1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a print server, an image formation system, a control method thereof, and a storage medium, and more particularly to a print server capable of handling image data mixedly including plural different kinds of data, an image formation system containing this print server, a control method thereof, and a storage medium.
2. Related Background Art
In general, an image formation system which sends PDL (page description language) data, image data and the like generated by a host computer to an image formation apparatus connected to a print server through a network, expands the sent data into bit map, and outputs the bitmapped data is known. In the image formation apparatus of this image formation system, a printer and a BW (black-and-white) digital copying machine which have a function to perform high-speed print, a color printer and a color copying machine which perform color print, and the like are used. Further, in the image formation apparatus, a finisher which staples and punches output recording sheets and performs bookbinding processing to these sheets, a manual sheet feeder which feeds OHP (overhead projector) sheet and special sheets, and the like can be installed, whereby it is possible to easily perform bookbinding or the like of the recording sheets.
However, in recent years, image data which is generated by mixing BW data with color data is on the increase. Thus, in the current image formation system, even when a BW image output apparatus and a color image output apparatus are connected to the print server, the data mixedly including plural different kinds of data (e.g., BW data and color data) can be output by either one of the BW image output apparatus and the color image output apparatus. For this reason, there is a problem that, when the data is output by the BW image output apparatus, a color page is involuntarily reproduced as a BW page. Further, there is a problem that, when the data is output by the color image output apparatus, the data output takes much time because ordinary color processing is slow. Further, there is a problem that, since a BW image is handled as a color image, it costs to perform the image output.
Further, for example, when the image data mixedly including color and BW data is sent to the image formation apparatus, it is possible to distribute the BW data to the BW image formation apparatus and the color data to the color image formation apparatus so as to cause the BW image formation apparatus to print the BW data and the color image formation apparatus to print the color data. However, when the image data is sent to the image formation apparatus without considering a state of the image formation apparatus side, for example, there is some fear that the processing of the BW and/or color image formation apparatuses is monopolized until such the entire print ends and thus other users can not inconveniently use the BW and/or color image formation apparatus.